In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,845,906 and 6,113,101, the text of which is incorporated by reference herein, I described methods for playing wagering games which were based, in substantial part, on the rules of poker. As was the case with these earlier disclosures, the present invention relates generally to a playing card wagering game which is particularly applicable to a casino environment in which multiple players compete with themselves and with the house. The game in its variations can also be played in a home environment.
Wagering games, particularly those intended primarily for play in casinos, should provide players with a sense of participation and control, the opportunity to make decisions, and reasonable odds of winning, even though the odds favor the casino, house, dealer or banker. The game must also meet the requirements of regulatory agencies.
Wagering games, including wagering games for casino play with multiple wagering opportunities, are known. In addition to the above-mentioned patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,861,041 and 5,087,405 (both to Jones et al) disclose methods and apparatus for progressive jackpot gaming, respectively. The former patent discloses that a player may make an additional wager at the beginning of a hand, the outcome of the additional wager being determined by a predetermined arrangement of cards in the player""s hand. U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553 (to Suttle and Jones) discloses a modified version of a five card stud poker game.
Additional symbols may be added to the usual means of playing a game to increase wagering opportunities. This is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,107 (to Boylan et al). Somewhat similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,757 (to Holmberg) discloses a board game and apparatus, including a way to allow the player to make a choice with respect to several different alternative types of game play and risk-bearing strategies. The alternative play is based on providing cards with additional symbols and therefore, a new set of odds. The game and apparatus disclosed by Holmberg requires new sets of rules, relatively complicated procedures and time for a player to learn the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,429 (to LeVasseur) involves the dealer playing multiple hands against a player""s single hand, whereby the number of hands played in the same amount of time is increased.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,462 (to Breeding) discloses a casino-type poker game wherein players are given an opportunity to withdraw at least a part of their bets before all the cards are dealt. The game employs at least one common card which can be used by all of the players.
The present invention relates to a card game, in particular to a card game suitable for use in casinos, and to tables for playing the game. The game combines the concepts of draw poker with simultaneous play against a dealer (the house) and play against other players. Players who are dealt premium hands receive bonus payments, depending on the value of the hand. Because the players are not permitted to increase their wagers, the game moves rapidly.
The game follows the rules of stud poker. Each player""s poker hand is made from 5 dealt cards with the right to use a common card to improve the dealt hand if the player elects to discard and pay the house for the privilege of using this common card. The dealer has same option as other players, i.e., to make the best five-card hand from six cards; however, the dealer does not pay to use the common card. Each player plays head-to-head against the dealer for one part of the wager, and against the other players or another part of the wager (the xe2x80x9ccommon potxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cPlayers"" Potxe2x80x9d). A bonus or xe2x80x9cpremium potxe2x80x9d provides the players with a third opportunity to win.
Premium or bonus pots have become very popular with the gaming public. This game incorporates a premium pot, but unlike conventional games (e.g., Caribbean Stud) where players contribute to the makeup of that pot, the present game has a bonus system which does not require a direct contribution by the players. In the present game, it is envisioned that a player having an extraordinary poker hand (e.g., a straight or higher) will receive a bonus or premium payment from the house, based on the statistical rarity of the hand. Funds to pay the bonus can be generated from the monies paid to the dealer (house) in the course of the game when players buy a card from the dealer. Although the amount or cost of the one card can be determined by the house, the suggested price in this game would be $5.00. Because premium payouts will not be an every-game occurrence, sufficient funds to seed and maintain this bonus pool can easily be obtained from amounts paid for extra cards over the course of many hands. Similarly, the funds required to seed the game as a tournament game can be obtained from amounts paid for extra cards.
The game would proceed as follows. The dealer (house) operates from a table playing station which provides easy access to the players. In addition to the dealer, the game can be played by as many as six players around the table, each operating from a playing station which has a card playing area and a betting area. Each player""s betting area contains at least two wager zones: a first Ante zone, and a second zone for wagers which form the xe2x80x9cPlayers"" Pot.xe2x80x9d A player""s playing area might also contain a marked region or regions for placing a discarded card and for paying the dealer for the right to make such a discard. The players"" stations also contain regions or zones where cards can be dealt.
The dealer""s playing station is somewhat different than that of the players. In addition to a region or zone for placing the five cards dealt to the dealer, the dealer""s playing station contains a zone for placement of a common card which can be utilized by any of the players who opt to make a discard. The dealer""s playing station also contains a region or zone for maintaining a common Players"" Pot.
In a preferred method, play would commence as follows: Each player would place a predetermined amount in a first Ante zone at his/her station on the table. The suggested amount for an ante for this game would be $5.00 per hand in the Ante zone, although this amount is given for purposes of illustration only, and could be higher or lower at house discretion.
Five cards are dealt to each player, preferably all at one time, starting from the dealer""s left to right; the dealer being dealt last. The dealer also places a single card in a xe2x80x9ccommon cardxe2x80x9d zone region of the table. All cardsxe2x80x94players"", dealer""s and the common cardxe2x80x94are dealt face down. The players look at their five cards and determine if they are going to play. If a player is going to fold, he or she indicates this by discarding all five cards to the dealer. Dealer then picks up the ante wager in the player""s first Ante zone and the five cards dealt to the folding player. The forfeited ante wager belongs to the house.
If a player opts to continue, he or she indicates this by placing a second wager (e.g., five dollars) in the second, xe2x80x9cPlayers"" Potxe2x80x9d zone at his/her playing station. At this point, the player has two options: standing pat, or discarding one card in the hopes of improving the hand by use of the as yet undisclosed common card. A player who opts to use the common card must place one of the dealt cards in a discard zone at his/her playing station, together with a payment to the dealer (e.g., $5.00) for the right to make this discard. In the next stage of play, the dealer would pick up the extra card payments and discards from each of the players who have opted to utilize the common card (viz., from all players except those who have opted to stand pat). As was the case with Ante wagers collected from players who have decided not to continue, the extra card payments go to the house. The justification for this situation will be explained below.
All cards returned to the dealer are placed in a discard area on the table. A preferred method would involve placing the discards in a holding area provided on the table, adjacent the dealer""s playing station. As noted above, it is envisioned that the receipts from extra-card payments will off-set any payments the house may make to players who have poker hands of a certain value (e.g., a straight or above). Players having these types of hands (a xe2x80x9cbonusxe2x80x9d hand) are entitled to a bonus or premium in addition to any wagers they may recover from the dealer or from other players through the xe2x80x9cPlayers"" Pot.xe2x80x9d
At this point in the game, each of the remaining players will have two wagers on the table at his/her playing stationxe2x80x94one wager in the Ante zone and a second wager in the Players"" Pot zone. As will be described in greater detail below, the wager in the Ante zone represents a bet between the player and the dealer. The wager in the player""s second or Players"" Pot zone represents a bet with each of the remaining players, apart from the dealer. That is to say, except for a service charge or xe2x80x9crakexe2x80x9d (described hereafter), the dealer is generally not eligible for any portion of the Players"" Pot (with one exception, described below).
Although the dealer does not participate as a player, the house may be entitled to a portion of the Players"" Pot as a service charge or xe2x80x9crakexe2x80x9d. A commonly-used rake for casino card parlors is 5% of the pot. The house xe2x80x9crakexe2x80x9d in this case could be much smaller. A schedule of amounts to be xe2x80x9crakedxe2x80x9d could be: $1.00 for each $30.00 accumulated in the Players Pot; $1.50 for pots of $75.00, and so on (i.e., a 3.3% rake). This xe2x80x9crakexe2x80x9d would be paid to the house when xe2x80x9cplayers potxe2x80x9d is finely won by a player. If the Players Pot is under $25.00, no xe2x80x9crakexe2x80x9d would be taken. These suggestions concerning the amount of the house xe2x80x9crakexe2x80x9d are for illustration only, and variations could be made at the option of the house, including a decision to forgo any xe2x80x9crake.xe2x80x9d
With respect to the bet""s placed on each player""s xe2x80x9cPlayers"" Potxe2x80x9d zone, these wagers could either be left in place until completion of the current hand, or gathered by the dealer in the common Players"" Pot region on the table to be combined with any previously-undistributed Players"" Pot wagers.
When the dealer has finished with all players, he or she would turn over and expose the five cards which were dealt to the dealer. The dealer""s subsequent actions are governed as follows: 1) If the dealer has a straight or better, the dealer stands pat, and may not discard and used the common card; 2) If the dealer has four cards to a flush, the dealer must discard the odd card, even if this results in breaking up a pair; 3) Similarly, if the dealer has four cards to a straight, he holds these cards, and discards the odd card, subject to the following rules: 3a) if the dealer has the choice between holding an open straight draw and an inside straight draw, he will hold the open straight draw; and, 3b) if the dealer has the choice between two inside straight draws, he will hold the higher of the two; 4) Finally, in all other cases, the dealer must discard the lowest unmatched card.
An example of situation 3a is as follows: if the dealer has the following dealt handxe2x80x943, 4, 5, 6, 8xe2x80x94he should discard the xe2x80x9c8xe2x80x9d, because this gives him two possibilities (a xe2x80x9c2xe2x80x9d or a xe2x80x9c7xe2x80x9d) to fill the straight; discarding the xe2x80x9c3xe2x80x9d would give him only one such possibility (a xe2x80x9c7xe2x80x9d). An example of situation 3b is the followingxe2x80x942, 3, 4, 6, 7. Although the dealer has only one possibility to improve this straight (a xe2x80x9c5xe2x80x9d), he should discard the xe2x80x9c2xe2x80x9d and not the xe2x80x9c7xe2x80x9d because a 7-high straight is better than a 6-high straight.
Stated mathematically, if xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d is the lowest value card in the hand which is initially dealt to the dealer, type 3b hands can be represented as: X+(X+1)+(X+2)+(X+4)+(X+5); or X+(X+1)+(X+3)+(X+4)+(X+5). In either situation, card X must be discarded by the dealer.
After the five cards dealt to the dealer have been exposed, and the dealer has made a discard (if required) in accordance with the above-outlined procedures, the dealer exposes the common card. Irrespective of this result, all dealer hands must play.
After the dealer""s hand has been exposed, the dealer turns up each player""s hand, starting from his left to right. The dealer pays an amount equal to the Ante wager in the first betting zone to each player who has a higher poker hand than the dealer, and collects the Ante bets from all of the players with lower hands than the dealer. In those situations where a player and the dealer have hands of the same value, these hands result in a xe2x80x9cpushxe2x80x9d, and no money is exchanged between the player and the dealer.
At this point in the game, the dealer would pay a bonus or premium to any player who holds a xe2x80x9cbonus handxe2x80x9dxe2x80x94a poker hand comprising a straight or better. In a preferred embodiment, this bonus would only be paid to those players whose poker hands were higher than that of the dealer. For example, if the dealer""s hand comprised a flush, no bonus would be paid to a player holding a straight.
As to the amount of the bonus, such payouts by the dealer could be based on the amount a player must pay to discard and use the xe2x80x9ccommonxe2x80x9d card. Suggested payouts based on this system are as follows:
Using the above table, and assuming that the right to discard and use the common card costs $5.00, a player holding a flush would be entitled to a bonus payment of $25.00. The foregoing system of payouts has been provided by way of example, only, and could be varied at the discretion of the house.
One final point about the bonus payout system. Although the payout system illustrated above is based on the amount charged for discarding a card, a player need not discard to be eligible for a bonus payment. For example, a player whose originally-dealt cards formed a straight, and who understandably opted to stand pat, would be entitled to a $15.00 bonus payment.
The final stage of play involves head-to-head competition between the players. Any player who has not folded will have anteed money into a second betting zone on the table. The wagers in this second zone, plus any previously-undistributed wagers from prior hands, form a common, Players Pot. This pot will be paid to the player who has the highest poker hand, provided that the hand must be three-of-a-kind or better. If more than one player has three-of-a-kind or better, the player with the highest poker hand will receive the Players"" Pot. If no player has three-of-a-kind or better, the current hand""s Players"" Pot wagers are added to any previous wagers in the Common Players"" Pot, and the pool continues to the next hand until someone obtains a hand of three-of-a-kind or better. As noted above, the dealer does not normally participate in the Players"" Pot (apart from the house xe2x80x9crakexe2x80x9d).
In the event that a new player (i.e., an individual who has not previously placed an ante bet) would like to enter the game after a Players"" Pot has started (i.e., while there are undistributed funds in the Common Players"" Pot), he/she may do so by contributing an amount proportional to as many hands that have been played. For example, if three hands have been played, each current player who has not folded along the way will have contributed $15 to the Common Players"" Pot (3xc3x97$5). A new player who wishes to enter the game at this juncture could do so by contributing $15 to the Common Players"" Pot prior to the start of the next hand. If a new player does not want to make a contribution to the Common Players"" Pot, his/her participation in the game is limited to head-to-head play against the house (including the right to receive bonus payments for straights or better) until the then-current common Players"" Pot is won.
Lastly, there is one exception to the rule that the dealer is not eligible for the Common Players"" Pot. In the event that only one player is at the table, the house may contribute an amount equal to $5 times y (where y is the number of previously-played hands without a Players"" Pot payoff). This exception would only apply in the case where only one player is left at the table.
In summary, under the method described above, a player has three opportunities to win: 1) by having a higher poker hand in one-on-one play with the dealer; 2) by having the highest poker hand, three-of-a-kind or better, among all of the players at the table; and, 3) by having a xe2x80x9cpremiumxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cbonusxe2x80x9d hand (e.g., a straight or better) which entitles the player to a premium payout from the house. Operation of the game can be further understood with reference to the description of apparatus for playing the game.
Although certain apparatus constructed in accordance with the teachings of the invention is described herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all embodiments of the teachings of the invention fairly falling within the scope of the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.